India
is the land of snake charmers, elephants, mystical fakirs, great
mathematicians - and books. Nearly 4000 years ago when man was still
figuring out the intricacies of language and script, we were writing
epics and treatise on various subjects. The Vedas, the
Ramayana, the
Gita, the
Mahabharata and the
Kamasutra - books that are read even today - were all written
more than 2000 years ago. Some of these ancient manuscripts can
still be found in archives all over the world - with their ink intact
and unfaded. The language of choice was Sanskrit - one of the oldest
languages in the world and one which (according to Forbes magazine)
is the best suited for software.

We
did not stop at mere scribbling however. The ancient texts use several
words for books - Granth,
Pustak,
Bhojpatra,
Taamrapatra
- leading us to believe that there were a variety of book types
available. India was also the first to understand the concept of
community education. Thus, Takshila
and Nalanda
- the first ever universities of the world, were set up roughly
around 600 B.C. These universities were home to a large number of
students from all over the world who came here to study and learn.

We
continued our traditions of excellence, right through the mediaeval
age where our poets and writers wrote and translated books, which
are considered classics even today. Even so far back as the eighteenth
century, India was exporting its printing - the first Persian newspaper,
read widely in Iran was published from India in Calcutta.